The Lake County Dance CoOp

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Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but

that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be

brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and

fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so

that other people won't feel insecure around you.

/.../

And, as we let our own light shine, we

unconsciously give other people permission to do

the same.

As we are liberated from our fear, our presence

automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson

Biography

Shannon Malone Sorci began her dance training at three years old in Connecticut studying with Jan Johnson and Joseph Albano, both principal dancers with the Hartford Ballet. At twelve she was offered a scholarship to study at the School of the Boston Ballet. For part of high school she was a scholarship student at the National Academy of Arts (NAA) in Champaign, Illinois, under the direction of Petrus Bosman, Soloist with the Royal Ballet in London.

At NAA, in addition to Mr. Bosman, Shannon was greatly influenced by the instruction and insight of Robert DiCello from the Canadian National Ballet. Her other regular teachers at the Academy included Valerie Taylor of the Royal Ballet, Christine Henessey of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Francesca Corkle and Charthell Arthur both from the Joffrey Ballet, and Nat Taylor of Alvin Ailey. Guest teachers included Andy Torres, the original Cowardly Lion in the "The Wiz" on Broadway and Buzz Miller who performed in "The Pajama Game" on Broadway and in the movie.

After high school she performed as a principal dancer in the Jean Millian Dance Company, a modern dance troupe based at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois. In addition to performing original works choreographed by Ms Millian, Shannon participated in reconstructions of several historical modern dance works, under the auspices of the Dance Notation Bureau in New York, including Doris Humphreys' "Shakers" from 1930 and Joan Woodbury's 1977 work "Affectionate Infirmities" -- a dance performed entirely on crutches to Mozart's 'Eine Kleine Nacht Musik' -- in which she was the soloist.

Shannon then joined San Diego's Three's Company, another modern dance troupe, as an apprentice where she studied with Jean Isaacs, Patrick Nollet, and Allison Cutrie. She also danced with the ballet company at the Lemon Grove Arts Complex, directed by Paul Giovinazzo of the Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo, where she was a Soloist performing such roles as the Green Fairy and Little Red Riding Hood in Sleeping Beauty as well as several roles in the Nutcracker, including Waltz of the Snowflakes, Waltz of the Flowers, one of the Mechanical Dolls, and Dance of the Mirlitons. During her time in San Diego Shannon also made regular trips to LA where she studied with Hymie Rogers and Serge Rodnunsky. She also garnered performance and classroom experience in African dance, Medieval and Renaissance dance, belly dance, and some folk and ethnic social dance.

In Northern California she has performed with the Mendocino Ballet under the direction of Mary Knight where she danced the Cat in Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and, again, several roles in the Nutcracker. She also worked with Rec Russell, a Broadway and television performer and founder of the Rec Russell Jazz Dance Company.

Locally, Shannon is best known for her eight-months pregnant performance of 'Santa Baby,' a solo choreographed for her by former San Francisco Ballet Principal Ballerina Jamie Zimmerman Bracisco. In 2007, with Ms Bracisco, Shannon co-founded the Community Arts Academy and the Middletown Dance Alliance which produced "Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway" and Lake County's first ever full-length Nutcracker with the party scene presented as a play. Shannon wrote the script, edited the soundtrack, and performed the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy.